Celcom has recently launched a new exclusive lounge at klia2, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL). Other than the usual amenities, passengers will be able to pay their bills and ask about their roaming needs. The lounge is available for customers of the following packages:

Celcom First Elite

Celcom First for Business

Celcom First for Enterprise

Specialists from Celcom, also known as Celcom Telecommunications Specialist will be available to help users with:

Roaming needs

Bill payments

Travel tips

Amenities available include complimentary refreshments and snacks, internet access and luggage storage. Passengers can have discussions with the Specialists for their communication needs.

Unfortunately, prepaid users are not eligible to use the lounge. We think it might be good for Celcom to provide the lounge access to other Celcom users at a fee.

Celcom is a leading mobile telecommunications provider in Malaysia. It is part of Axiata Group, which also has business presence in Asia, primarily concentrating on Southeast Asia region.

klia2 is a low-cost, purpose-built terminal located in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Unlike Main Terminal Building (MTB), klia2 does not cater for full service carriers (FSCs). Although AirAsia is the primary airline for the terminal, other airlines utilizing klia2 include but not limited to Malindo Air and Tiger Air.

Before passengers proceed to boarding gates on Departure level (Level 3), they need to walk through an open air area. There is a dedicated smoking area, some place to sit and relax as well as some greeneries.

klia2 Terminal, KL International Airport 2014-10-14 06.11.20

When klia2 is constructed, a new control tower is also built. It holds the record as the highest control tower in the world with height above 100 meters.

klia2 Terminal, KL International Airport 2014-10-14 06.09.55

A lot of AirAsia aircraft can be seen at the gates, ready for their early morning departure.

klia2 Terminal, KL International Airport 2014-10-14 06.06.13

Taxiway

klia2 Terminal, KL International Airport 2014-10-14 06.05.44

This is the smoking area for klia2.

klia2 Terminal, KL International Airport 2014-10-14 06.05.30

Another view of AirAsia Airbus A320 aircraft. To save maintenance and training costs, they have decided to use only a single type of Aircraft, namely Airbus A320.

I flew AirAsia to from Kuala Lumpur to Penang on Tuesday, October 14th 2014. The main purpose of the trip is to take a look at the newly-launched klia2 terminal and Penang International Airport which has been renovated recently.

Since it’s an early flight, I decided to come to the airport really early and spend half of my night there. I took the earliest bus available from KL Sentral, which is at 3 AM.

I took Skybus, the official shuttle bus for AirAsia. Other than KL Sentral, Skybus also offer service between 1 Utama and klia2, aimed for those who want to avoid KL traffic jam or just want to buy something at the shopping mall before boarding their aircraft.

klia2 Terminal, KL International Airport 2014-10-14 05.56.46

It feels very much like an airport in a shopping mall rather than vice versa. There is A LOT of retail space available, making even one-day transit seems short for travelers.

For some unknown reasons, klia2 self check-in kiosks are there for months already but they have not been operating yet.

klia2 Terminal, KL International Airport 2014-10-14 05.58.44

The food court is now operational and they offer a good array of Malaysian delicacies. Did I tell you it comes with an affordable price too?

There is also Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) on Level 2 and the server there is well-trained for tourists. Regardless whether I look Malaysian or not, they will greet and smile at me. There is quite a number of waitstaff in restaurants who only smile at you and treat you nice if you dress up real decent or look like tourists from Western countries.

klia2 Terminal, KL International Airport 2014-10-14 05.58.59

Level 2M or 2 Mezzanine is dubbed as “relaxation zone with generous space to relax and unwind. Some overnight travelers even sleep here.

We can see most of the signages have estimated walking time displayed, enabling people who aren’t familiar with the airport to estimate their time walking to the gate. Being an airport with huge retail space, this will increase foot traffic into the shops.

klia2 Terminal, KL International Airport 2014-10-14 05.59.58

One more minute to departures gate.

This is the end of Part 1, I will tell you more about klia2 in Part 2 soon.